Alone in the Dark
by earinabox
Summary: After Bonnie succumbs to the cold, Twill must hold on to her life and sanity in the freezing tundra.


Hello! This is my first Bonnie and Twill story. It's going to be about 50k words, and hopefully you'll all stick around for all of them! Please leave a comment if you have anything good, bad, or in between to say about the story. I do not own Bonnie, Twill, or Katniss, but I do lay claim to everything else. Unless that's illegal, in which case I don't.

The ache in Bonnie's stomach screamed. She needed food. She wouldn't survive without food. Bonnie thought about all the meals she'd had in her life. Although she had been perpetually hungry in District 8, it had never been like this. There was nothing in this frozen tundra. The pine trees were all there was, and they gave nothing. No animals lived here; Bonnie wondered if it was too cold for anything but her and Twill to survive. Not that they would survive long. Bonnie's toes had stopped giving any sensation for a long time now. When she had checked them one day, the tips of her toes had been black. Ever since then, she hadn't taken her boots off. She hadn't told Twill. The pair had stopped talking to each other after the food ran out. The grain and beans Katniss had given them had lasted them a long time, but not long enough. Bonnie's skin stretched thinly over her ribs. Her body ached with every move of a muscle. She assumed Twill was feeling the same thing. Bonnie shouldn't have been selfish, she should have found a way to die a long time before. That way Twill could live with the food and find District 13. No. Bonnie was too weak, her will to live too strong. Bonnie wondered what would happen to her body. Twill couldn't bury her; the ground was frozen solid. Maybe Twill would leave it frozen in the snow forever. Would she- no, that wasn't something Twill would do. She valued her humanity too much for that.

Bonnie held onto her walking stick, trying to keep pace with Twill. Her injured leg dragged in the snow, filling her boot with ice. Her thoughts were filled with only one thought now. Survive. Survive. This is what kept Bonnie dragging her foot through the snow, even as her foot screamed in pain. Survive. The wind picked up, threatening to throw Bonnie's small frame into the snow. She pushed against it, struggling to stay upright. Survive. Bonnie chewed on pine needles, hoping that they would give some small degree of nutrients. They were bitter, and the sharp tips poked and scraped her mouth. She forced herself to swallow. Survive.

Twill was getting too far ahead of her. Bonnie sped up, but each of Twill's footsteps increased the distance between the pair. "Twill!" Bonnie tried to cry out, but her throat yielded only a croak. A white flurry hid Twill from her. Bonnie kept walking forward. Survive. This was the only thing left to her, now that everything had been taken away. Bonnie fell into the snow, her shattered leg failing her. She was slow to get back up, and when she looked for her, Twill was gone. No footprints defiled the white ground. "Twill!" Only the wind heard her, and replied with a laugh-like shriek. "Twill!" Bonnie knew no mortal ears heard her. She picked a direction and wandered forward. There was no sign there had ever been a human presence here other than her own. "Twill!" The sun hung on the horizon, as it always did, casting long shadows across the ground. A frozen stream curved in front of Bonnie. She tried to step over it, but her foot slipped on the edge, throwing her down onto the hard ice. Bonnie pushed herself upward while a sharp pain exploded in her leg. She continued, holding onto the small hope of finding Twill. White tendrils of snow danced across the ground, erasing her footsteps as she made them. She forced her legs forward, one after another, ignoring the growing pain. Survive. The scene never changed. Green, snow covered pine trees, again and again and again. They loomed over her, like great giants, protecting their frozen kingdom. Thier branches reached out and scraped her like twisted arms. Die, they seemed to whisper. Starve, freeze, trip, rot.

She missed Twill, even after this short length of time. She hadn't been great company, but anything was better than complete isolation. She would never again hear a murmured word, never again look into another's eyes, never again see someone smile. This thought hit Bonnie like a brick. There were so many things that she would never have the chance to do, to see, to taste. Cruel fate had taken so many things away from her because she was poor, because she was lost, because she was her. No, this could not be the end. She couldn't allow it. The forest seem to compress in on her, forming a wall of wood wherever she looked. Bonnie ran as fast as she could, stumbling on branches and cursing at the needles that scratched her face. Wind driven snow pummeled her face, stinging her eyes. She squinted and continued on, her heart beating like a war drum in her chest. Survive. What hope was there? Nothing could save her now. But she would keep trying. The voice would keep her trying even as her legs burned like fire and her fingers froze at the tips. _Let me die_, she begged to herself, but the voice did not comply. Her legs kept moving, kept her alive. They kept moving, dragging her foot by foot as her toes solidified. It was four hours before they stopped, and she stood still, standing in front of a pine tree. It took more twelve hours before she collapsed into a snow bank under the tree. She grabbed the branches, pulling them over herself to protect her from the howling wind. Soon, her shivers slowed. Her bed became a shroud, and the night stretched on forever.


End file.
